A Walk In the Knight
by Jello Ink
Summary: *Queifer* Zell and Seifer were warring over Quistis's heart. Now that Zell is gone, where are they to go from there? ~Finished~
1. An Unexpected Meeting

Title: A Walk In the Knight  
Author: JELLO  
Summary: A Queifer. I don't think more needs to be said.  
Disclaimer: I own nothing!!!!!! Square owns all!!!!  
A/N: ~~ indicate Quisty's thoughts  
  
Quistis walked around Balamb with an acquired ease of movement, graceful and slightly frowning as she meandered through the streets. Her thoughts were on several things, none of which brought a smile to the weary blonde's face.   
  
  
Squall. Oh Hyne what an awful mistake. How could she have ever had feelings for him? He was cold, uncaring, seemingly unable to open up...then he met Rinoa. She had knocked down the walls Quistis had been hammering at for years in what seemed a matter of minutes. One dance and he was hooked. One dance and he was in love. And the thing that irked her, the thing that really got under her skin and made her want to throw herself off the nearest cliff was that, despite all efforts not to, she still loved him. Hopelessly.  
  
  
Her job. Gone forever now, Cid had made that extremely clear. Demoted to the average SeeD, no hope of ever returning to her former position. No leadership qualities equalled no job, and according to the headmaster, Quistis had none. Cid, although clear in his decision to demote her and make her average-Hyne how Quistis hated being average-had never told her exactly why she was being tossed aside. But it didn't matter. Quistis knew the reason as surely as she knew what color her eyes were. Seifer. He was what had gotten her rank pulled down. He was at fault. He had to run off with his stupid sorceress and ruin everything for Quistis. She shouldn't really be thinking that way, but Quistis was beyond reason in her sudden rage.   
  
  
~Stupid bastard, just waltzed into my life with that stupid smirk on his face and messed it up for me. Hyne help him if I ever see the idiot again!~  
  
  
Quistis's train of thought was suddenly cut off as she charged straight into some poor bystander to her quiet raging. She immediately looked up to apologize to the man. Mocking green eyes stared down into her cornflower blue ones. The blue pair widened in shock and Quistis blinked twice, narrowing her eyes and looking again.   
  
  
~It can't be...~ But oh Hyne, it could be and it certainly was. ~Seifer!~ At that point coherent thought pretty much left Quistis all together, and she took a few steps backward. That famous smirk graced his face and she barely restrained herself from smacking it off. Concentrating on walking away calmly, she turned to go around him. All the while she chanted reasons to herself why she couldn't kill him. She'd get demoted again. He'd probably return the favor. Murder isn't something she wanted on her record. The little devil on her shoulder was tempting her profusely. No one likes him anyway, it said. You'd probably be given a medal, not a prison sentence, it said. She ignored it, turned on her heel as if deciding once and for all, and headed around the trenchcoated figure in front of her.  
  
  
He cut her off, stepping in front of her again.  
  
  
"Where are you off to in such a hurry, Instructor? Am I to take it you didn't miss me?" The smirk curled in a grin, but the upturning of his mouth wasn't humorous or gleeful. It could most accurately be described as malicious.  
  
  
"Why would I miss you of all people, Seifer? It's not like you've made any impact on my life whatsoever besides perhaps being an ass." She glared at him icily. "Now if you'd just step aside...Actually, you know what? Don't make the effort. Good day Seifer." She moved to go around him once more and once more he blocked her exit.  
  
  
"Instructor, that was rather cold don't you think? If I didn't know better I'd think you were trying to brush me off! My favorite instructor, being cold to me! It's a wonder I haven't broken down just thinking about it."   
  
  
"Shutup Seifer, I've had enough of your sarcasm and general tendency to piss me off. Isn't it enough that I had to deal with you while you were a student? Do you have to come back and haunt me like some awful repetitous dream?"  
  
  
"Oh so I'm in your dreams, Trepe? I'm flattered. It's not every day one appears in the dreams of one so beautiful." Quistis could have sworn he winked at her...no it was just her imagination. This was Seifer. Seifer did not wink, unless of course he felt the need to add dramatic irony to a moment in which he was about to slice you in half with Hyperion. She shook her head to clear it.   
  
  
"Good bye, Seifer. Leave the poor mediocre EX-Instructor alone and go steal some candy from babies or someething." Seifer, unknown to Quistis, was surprised to hear both that Quistis was no longer an instructor and the tone of bitterness coating her voice. This time instead of trying to go around, she just turned on her heel and walked away.  
  
  
When she was far out of sight, Seifer mumbled to himself, looking absolutely wicked.  
  
  
"You won't be rid of me so easily, Quistis Trepe." Then he turned and walked in the opposite direction Quistis had gone. "Not quite so easily..."  
  
  
  
  
  
A/N: I absolutely refuse to continue without reviews. *stamps foot* REVIEWS! Do you guys think this is a good start? Hee hee I wrote this in twenty mintues, I hope the writing doesn't reflect that. Peace to all you Queifer fans out there, this one's for you. *muah*! 


	2. Quistis Passes Out

A/N: I'm too lazy to bother with a disclaimer every freaking time I upload a chapter so you can just assume the first chapter's disclaimer still applies. And it does, I have not yet magically become CEO of Square...  
  
  
~Chapter 2~ (At Garden the following day)  
  
Quistis thudded her cafeteria tray unceremoniusly next to Irvine at the table occupied by the 'Hero' group, so dubbed by the rest of Garden. She sat down and rubbed at her drooping eyes. She was still stressed out after her meeting with Seifer, but she never told her   
  
  
"Morning Quisty!" chirped Selphie cheerily, her voice like three million squawking birds in Quistis's head. She had the headache of the century pounding through her ears and Selph's high pitched greeting grated on her brain.  
  
  
"Morning..." she grumbled, rubbing her temples uselessly. "Oh Hyne..." She reached in her pocket for an aspirin, and finding one, gulped it down quickly with her coffee.  
  
  
"Gee Quisty, you don't look that well! Maybe you should go back to bed." Rinoa offered.  
  
  
"Rinoa you have no idea how much I would love to do that, but Cid told me I'm going to start tutoring a new student today. He's coming half-way through the year and needs to catch up fast. Cid says the instructors have enough work, and I'm the only other one familiar enough with the material."  
  
  
"Ouch...that sucks! You can't just back out?" Zell's library girl asked...what the hell was her name again? Anyway she looked very sympathetic.  
  
  
"Unfortunately no I can't. It'd look really bad if I copped out on the very first day!" Quistis looked defeated, she would have to spend the day teaching stuff she was too tired and sick to care about. She pushed her chair out, taking a last sip of her coffee. "Ugh, speaking of I have to get going, I'm meeting the guy in Cid's office in five minutes." She walked out of the cafeteria with a last half-wave at her friends.  
  
  
Strolling as confidently as possible with her head pounding, she went to Cid's office and sat down in a stiff-backed chair near his desk.  
  
  
"Good morning Quistis," greeted Cid pleasantly, "I'm afraid the young man you will be tutoring is a bit late. While we wait for him, I just want to give you a bit of information to make this easier for you. This is a student who has been, after reconsideration, re-admitted to Garden. You won't have to teach him everything new would-be-SeeDs need to know, since he's taken most of the course before. Just give him a refresher course over the Christmas break, and he'll be ready to go by the start of the new semester."  
  
  
Quistis, being tired and all, only caught the last bit of the speech gratefully. ~Ahhh only a refresher course...that's good I won't have to teach him the whole bloody thing in two weeks.~  
  
  
"Quistis I chose you not only because you have familiarity with the material, but also because I expect you to be more tolerant of his being back at Garden. He's been through a lot and you are the only one I would trust not to make him feel unwelcome."  
  
  
Her ears perked up at these sentences. "What's his name sir?"  
  
  
"What?" Cid smacked his forehead in frusteration. "Xu was supposed to tell you!"  
  
  
"Who is he headmaster?" she asked more forcefully than she intended.  
  
  
"Why, naturally he's..."  
  
  
The door opened, and Quistis turned her head toward the newcomer. She gasped in shock, taking in the familiar (and dreaded) silohette of a man in a trench coat. Stepping into the light from the window, she could clearly make out the scar zig-zagging down one side of his face.  
  
  
"...Seifer Almasy."  
  
  
The last thing Quistis saw before the world went black and she slumped to the floor, was the infamous smirk that graced Seifer Almasy's face. 


	3. Getting Away

A/N: Quick updates eh? If I don't get at least five reviews on this chapter (c'mon its a turning point!) I will assume you *sniff* hate me *sniff* and refuse to continue! Because I'm just that vengeful!  
P.S. ** are Seifer's thoughts (don't worry only Quisty and Seifer can think in this story otherwise it's too confusing!) Quisty's thought dealies are ~~   
A/n (again): Ok I'm seriously making an attempt to turn this in an unexpected direction here! Chapter 2 was just a filler and now if you're reading this I've decided where this is going. *sigh* Finally, poor Queifer writers how does it not come out cliché? Tell me if you think it still is.  
  
  
~Chapter 3~ We last left Quistis passed out on the floor of Cid's office...  
  
  
Quistis woke up in the infirmary. First she glanced around a few times, frowning intensely, trying to figure out how she got there. When it hit her, she sunk back into her pillow and groaned.   
  
  
"DAMMIT!" She punched the wall behind her and was a bit surprised to feel her fist sink into the drywall. When she pulled her hand back it was red and covered in chips of paint, dust from the drywall, and a little fuzzy pink bit of insulation was stuck under her fingernail. A voice startled her from her amazement in staring at her hand.  
  
  
"That'll probably come out of your salary, my dear teacher." Seifer smiled at her. Quistis did a double take. Was that a smile on his face?! But when she looked again, it had melted into his trademark smirk. She shook her head a bit.   
  
  
~I must be seeing things. ~  
  
  
"Since when have I ever been dear to you, Seifer?" she snapped with a biting sarcasm lacing her words. Lack of use hadn't dulled her knack for sarcasm. She didn't use it amongst her friends, but with Seifer's return, it all came flooding back.  
  
  
"No need to be such a bitch Quistis, I just came up to say hello." *And to make sure you didn't have a heart attack on top of passing out...*  
  
  
Quistis bit the inside of her cheek at the casual use of her name, but then what else was he supposed to call her? She wasn't an instructor anymore, and it's not like he could call her 'Tutor'. She laughed a bit at the thought, surprising Seifer.   
  
  
"You should laugh more often. Pretty soon you're going to have a line dividing your face in half from frowning." She glared at him.  
  
  
"I think you've said a sufficient hello, Seifer. You can go annoy the rest of the population now." She made a be gone gesture with her hand, and started reading a book as if he had already left. She knew exactly how much he hated being ignored, and was hoping if she pretended he wasn't there, he would leave.  
  
  
He sat there for a few minutes in silence, staring at her. Finally he spoke, but his voice wasn't sarcastic, just defeated. The voice of a soul no one had ever bothered to care for.   
  
  
"Well, I guess I'll see you in the library tomorrow. Cid says be there at eight to start. Bye.... Quisty." He got up and left her room leaving Quistis looking confusedly after him. Not even her closest friends called her Quisty anymore...  
  
  
But then Dr. Kadowaki walked in, snapping Quistis out of her reverie. She looked at the wall and raised an eyebrow, but just handed her a glass of water and let her go, telling her to rest a while in her dorm.  
  
  
***The next day, bright and early***  
  
  
She woke up with a groan, touching her still throbbing head gently. She winced and dragged herself out of bed, her head screaming at her to lie down. After a hot shower she felt a bit better, and the pain was tolerable. Taking a few aspirin, Quistis attempted putting her hair in it's usual style, but the moment her head felt the pressure of the clip against her skull, her nerves went haywire. Blue streaked pain shot down her neck, and her eyes felt light sensitive suddenly. Alright, alright no clip. Anything to keep that bloody pain from coming back.   
  
  
On the way to the library, Quistis struggled to come up with excuses to transfer Seifer from her care to Xu's. Maybe she could blame her headaches on him. Some psychological association junk would get him off her back. Thank Hyne she spent only three hours a day with him. Only. Felt like forever already and she hadn't even started. She sat down beside an early and apparently eager-to-learn Seifer, and opened a book.  
  
  
The words blurred on the page, and Quistis put her glasses on, trying hard to focus. When she looked up at Seifer, though, he was just gaping at her.  
  
  
"What?" She sighed impatiently.   
  
  
"Umm...nothing, just never really saw your hair down before." He trailed off uncertainly. "Anyway what are we doing today?"  
  
  
"We...we're...oh for Hyne's sake you're smart enough teach your damn self!" Quistis stormed out of the library, suddenly too sick of everyone and everything in the whole damn Garden. ~If I have to serve as please-do-dump-it-on-me Quistis Trepe, then screw it, screw them, screw it all. ~ Leaving behind a bewildered Seifer, she stomped up to her dorm.  
  
  
Sick of SeeD, sick of Garden, and most of all sick of Seifer Almasy showing up everywhere lately, Quistis was enraged. It wasn't her damn problem anymore, she would make sure of that. Packing her few possessions and her whip, she stormed to Cid's office holding only that and a suitcase. Flipping him the finger, ~Let actions speak louder than words~ she went down the stairs. When she finally got the hell out of that place, she called wildly into the street.  
  
  
"TAXI!" What the taxi driver thought of the messy, presumably insane blonde girl waving him down in the street Quistis didn't know or care. She just hopped in and blurted out the name of the first place that popped into mind.  
  
  
"Fisherman's Horizon and step on it."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Review or die!!!!! Well I have read almost every Queifer on FF, and if I say so myself, I don't think Quisty's ever gone to FH before post leaving Garden. And certainly not after flipping Cid the bird (old coot deserves it!) Hurrah! An original Queifer may yet be at hand! Five reviews to continue. ~JELLO~ 


	4. A New Life

A/N: Ok, not to be ANNOYING *looks out of computer monitor at Alonia* lol just playin with ya, but this time I seriously need reviews because I need you guys to give me a couple of ideas here. I know I said this would be a Queifer, but do you guys want a Quell or a Quall or (god forbid) a Quirvine **shudder**? Let me know because I am thinking of turning this into a Queifer vs (place pairing of your choice here). Vote for contender #2 plz! Ok I'll stop rambling and let you read chapter 4. :)  
  
  
  
~Chapter 4~  
  
  
Quistis was still livid two hours later when she arrived in FH. She was a sight alright, roaming the streets with her windblown hair and outfit in disarray. Still mumbling to herself using language best not repeated, she breezed into the first house she came by that had a 'For Rent' sign on the lawn.  
  
  
Slamming her suitcase down on the dinner table in front of a bewildered looking realtor working on a new pitch for the house, she made her declaration.  
  
  
"I live here now." Flustered, the realtor blinked a few times before he straightened in his seat.  
  
  
"Rent is 500 gil a month." Quistis dropped the money on the table, now she had only fifty gil left.  
  
  
"'Til next month then." ~Hyne I need a job fast.~ The realtor made himself scarce and ran off to the landlord, waving the money in the air. Apparently people in FH already had houses, and no interest in renting another. Quistis assumed few dropped in the quiet little place by the shore. Picking the keys up from where the man had dropped them in his excitement, she left her things in the kitchen and headed out to get a disguise.  
  
  
Stopping by a drugstore, she dropped her last 50 gil on a months supply of violet-colored contacts and a temporary wave kit (for her hair). ~I doubt they'll even come to look for me, but this'll keep them from recognizing me right off.~ She didn't think their search, if they bothered, would last more than a week. Bigger and better things would draw their attention away from one pathetic ex-instructor pretty quickly if she wasn't off her guess.  
  
  
Back at her new home, she put in the contacts-no more glasses for Quistis-and followed the instructions on the wave kit perfectly. Only a half an hour later an altered Quistis Trepe stood looking in the mirror. Her long golden hair had coiled itself into loose, flowing waves, which also made it appear shorter. She decided she would always wear it down. The new hue of her eyes made them warmer, kinder than blue, and the contacts also managed to hide the pain hidden in the depths. She smiled at herself. ~Even I don't know me...~  
  
  
She needed a new name, something easy to remember. Thinking to keep at least her intials, she came up with Quince Tayler. She looked like a Quince. Nice, normal Quince Tayler wasn't bogged down with problems. Quistis threw off everything that had ever bothered her. Mentally pushing it all off a cliff, she concentrated on relaxing. She had nothing to worry about anymore. The past was just the past now. She had a brand new chance at living and wasn't about to spoil it by remembering her old life at every turn. With her shoulders less stiff and formal, she looked younger without a care in the world. Her eyes travelled down past her face and she frowned. ~My clothes...~   
  
  
Peach battle gear wasn't exactly what Quince would wear. She went to her room after stopping in the kitchen to grab her suitcase and whip. Quince threw the whip at the bottom of her closet and dug through her suitcase. The SeeD uniform. Why had she brought that? It landed in a pile at her feet. Stripping to her underwear she let the peach vest and heavy skirt fall where the uniform had. There was little left in the suitcase now. But what she did find brought a smile to her face. She pulled out a white tank top, a pair of dark blue form-fitting jeans ~I never thought I'd thank Rinoa for *that* birthday present.~ a pair of old sneakers, and surprise, surprise, a cherry-tinted lip gloss she'd once bought on impulse. The only remaining item was a hairbrush.  
  
  
Quince quickly changed into the tank and jeans, pulling the sneakers on too. Rushing over to the mirror in dizzy excitement that comes with girl territory in getting a new outfit, she added a bit of the cherry gloss to her lips. No more Quistis left now, only Quince. She could have leaped with joy. It literally felt like shedding an old skin. She'd gotten back the youth she had forgotten in her ever-present effort to be the most mature. Running the brush through her hair, she set it and the gloss on her bureau. She ditched the suitcase in the very back of her closet and gathered the peach clothes and uniform. Heading outside she felt a queer sense of closure as she dumped her old clothes in one of the garbage cans sitting out by the alley.  
  
  
Sighing contentedly, she put the lid back on the garbage can, locked up the house, and started her walk toward the docks in her quest for a job.  
  
  
**~Meanwhile, back at Garden~**  
  
  
The Hero group, and Seifer too, were gathered in Cid's office. Squall, Rinoa, Selphie, Irvine and Zell had heard from Seifer that Quistis had left, and were concerned as to where she might be.  
  
  
Cid smiled in a fatherly way. "Don't worry! Quistis won't stay away long! Why any minute now she'll realize her mistake and come pounding up those stairs, begging for forgiveness." He put a hand to his ear and hovered inches from the door, listening expectantly.  
  
  
(Three Hours Later)  
  
  
"I don't think she's coming back..." whispered Selphie to Irvine. Cid's smile had faded and he wore an intense frown, and now had his ear pressed up against the door.   
  
  
"Aaaaannnny minute now." The SeeDs rolled their eyes.  
  
  
"Excuse us, Cid. We're gonna go look for Quistis." Zell said, pushing past Cid's doorwatch with the other SeeDs in tow. Turning back to his friends he demanded, "Where would Quistis go?"  
  
  
"What makes you think we know Chickenwuss?" sneered Seifer. "And who made you leader?"  
  
  
"I did," snarled Zell, with uncharacteristic violence in his voice "wanna make something out of it pretty boy?"  
  
  
"Look, Chickenwuss..."  
  
  
"Seifer, Zell! Can it! We aren't finding her this way! If you two don't stop it right now I'm going to scream!" Seifer and Zell stopped and stared at the diminuitive intruder to their little fued. Selphie had her hands on her hips and looked prepared to turn glass to dust with lungs supernaturally big for one so small. They immediately backed off of each other.   
  
  
"Well just watch it..." growled Seifer, more to save face rather than start another arguement.   
  
  
"I think we should look where we normally wouldn't." Rinoa offered softly, "She might go there thinking it's the last place we'll look."  
  
  
Everyone gaped at Rinoa, no one expecting her to show any form of intelligence or common sense.  
  
  
"Or...umm...just to speed things up, I could use my powers to tell you where she is."  
  
  
Everyone looked at her again, surprised beyond expression that Rinoa could be useful for something other than an arm decoration for Squall.  
  
  
"Oooooohhhhh! Pretty please do that Rinoa! It would make this sooooo unhassleish right? Irvine? Right? Someone agree with me!" Selphie (in order) cooed, begged, and shrieked.  
  
  
"Sure, Sefie." drawled Irvine.   
  
  
Rinoa drew her power and her vision turned internal as she scanned for Quistis. She knew that she wouldn't get a visual image, only a sense of the right way to go. She sat there for several minutes until the gang began to suspect she was only doing this as a ploy for attention, when suddenly her head whipped up and she cried out joyously.  
  
  
"DOLLET! No wait...BALAMB...no....NEXT DOOR...nuh uh...oh! I've got it! FH!"  
  
  
By this time no one believed Rinoa could really tell them where Quistis was, but they figured going to FH would stop any pending hissy fits. They looked amongst each other and sighed.   
  
  
"To FH then..." Seifer was the only one who smiled, seeming to know something the others did not.  
  
  
  
  
  
It was getting too long for one chapter soI ended it there. Maybe I should have gone on but hey, Chapter 5 will be up soon. Sorry if nothing really moved or shaked this chapter ^-^, see ya later! 


	5. Oh Hyne, It's Him Again

A/N: Thankies for the reviews! Queifer fans don't panic and start having strokes out there, but I decided to throw Zell into the mix. I'd tell you it's going to be a Queifer anyway, but I'm not really sure (MUAHAHA! You thought you had no worries didn't you?). After all we want this to be interesting don't we? It was getting a little too easy for Seifer there for a bit. **rubs hands together gleefully** The plot thickens!   
  
  
  
  
~Chapter (drum roll please) 5~  
  
  
~*In FH...*~  
  
  
  
Quince had absolutely NO problem getting a job at the dock. At first the boss was a little less than impressed by what he saw before him, a thin teenage girl who wanted to lift really heavy boxes around all day for 20 gil an hour. Sure the pay was good, he had told Quince, but surely a girl like her couldn't pick up something that heavy over and over without hurting her 'pretty little self' as he put it. So Quince had to convince him a bit. By picking up two of those boxes and carting them around for twenty minutes in his office without breaking a sweat. She was hired.   
  
  
It felt really good walking down the street knowing that she had a job outside SeeD. A job in which she was no prodigy. She felt like an average Joe, and damn did it make her day. It was hard work, but Quince was used to hard work. The pay was good, and she started tomorrow. It was a perfect opportunity.   
  
  
For the first time in what seemed to be decades, Quince grinned.  
  
  
  
*~The following day, elsewhere in FH~*  
  
  
"QUUUUIIIISSSSTTTIIISSSS??!!!?? OOOHHH QUUIISSSTTIIISSS!! WHERE ARE YOU?!" Irvine clamped a hand over Selphie's mouth.   
  
  
"Selphie for Hyne's sake shutup! She ran away remember? She's not just going to come racing back at the sound of your voice! If she hears you she's going to skip town!" Seifer glared hard at the loud girl, who was looking very mad from behind Irvine's hand. "I hope she's nowhere near here so she didn't hear you screaming!"  
  
  
"Shutup Seifer! You're nearly as loud as Selphie!"  
  
  
"Who asked you Chickenwuss?! Go back to Balamb and your little library girl!"  
  
  
"I broke up with her! And I asked me you moron!" Zell raised his fist about an inch away from Seifer's chin. "You wanna go? Let's go!"   
  
  
"I wouldn't waste my time on you Chickenwuss, everyone knows I'd beat you into the ground," Seifer growled.  
  
  
"Guys..." started Rinoa.  
  
  
"Oh yeah? I bet you're only saying that because you know you'd never win against without the help of your precious gunblade!" Zell countered.  
  
  
"Guys!" Rinoa admonished.  
  
  
"Ha! I could beat a little Chickenwuss like you in three seconds fla..."  
  
  
"GUYS!" Rinoa screamed, drawing attention from passers by and causing Seifer and Zell to break apart and stare at her. "Don't you think we ought to be looking for Quistis? That IS what we're here for, in case you've forgotten!"  
  
  
They nodded dumbly, and followed the rest of the SeeDs through the street, showing her picture around and asking the townspeople if they'd seen her.  
  
  
(Four Hours Later)  
  
  
Squall sighed, more than a little sick of looking for Quistis by now. He didn't see why they had to look for her in the first place. If she had left, that was her choice wasn't it? And if she didn't want to come back then what? Drag her by her hair? Sure she legally had to come back, she was not yet 21, but would they have the heart to force her? It made no sense whatsoever to him.  
  
  
They were walking down by the docks now, not really looking very hard anymore, all too tired to focus their eyes properly anymore. All except Zell and Seifer, who were as alert as if they had drunk seven cups of coffee.  
  
  
Every time Seifer saw blonde hair, his head snapped up and he peered at it's owner, only to find each and every time that it was someone too short, too tall, wrong eyes, wrong walk, they couldn't be Quistis Trepe.  
  
  
~*On the dock not too far from the SeeDs...*~  
  
  
Quince was having the time of her life. She loved the salty breeze brought in on the surf. She loved being in the sun. She, formerly ice cold Quistis, loved flirting with the dock boys. She even loved toting those boxes around.   
  
  
"Hey did you know your initials spell Q.T?" This from a particularly cute brown-haired man.  
  
  
"Yes, I did know. Don't you think I live up to them?" She responded jovially, even going so far as to wink at him.  
  
  
"Hell, yeah!" Then of course, the boss yelled at him to quit flirting and start working, to which he shrugged and turned back to the load of crates needing to be moved.  
  
  
Quince's skin was positively glowing after only a few hours in the sun. Her skin had always been fast to tan, but she wasn't even wearing suntan lotion today and so she was beginning to acquire a golden-brown hue. She was having so much fun she didn't even notice the five people in SeeD uniform showing her picture around the dock, or the man in a trench coat scrutinizing every blonde girl. She didn't notice them until they were almost upon her.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Zell was keeping an eye on the pretty blonde girl carrying boxes on the dock. Something drew him to her and no matter where he looked he found himself gazing longingly at her back as she joked with her coworkers. She half turned once, and he was so dazed he only caught a glimpse of her eyes. Purple. She was beautiful, but that was not the reason Zell couldn't tear himself away. There was something else there. Somehow he just needed desperately to go to her. And he needed to do it now. He glanced around the dock again briefly, and noticed Seifer looking at the same girl. His eyes met Zell's and the message couldn't have been clearer. Get lost.   
  
  
Zell shrugged noncommittally and began a slow, ambling walk towards the blonde girl.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Seifer glared at Zell, whose eyes seemed to be following the same path as his own. Unlike Zell, he had a plain view of the woman on the dock. He knew exactly who she was. He jeered silently that she had the audacity to insult him by thinking he'd be fooled by colored contacts and a new hairstyle. But then she probably had figured he would never come to find her. If she thought he cared that little...well he had a long time ahead of him to prove her wrong. He nudged a man beside him and inquired as to her name.  
  
  
"Oh, that's Quince Tayler you're looking at." he frowned slightly. "Hands off, buddy. I've had my eye on her for a while."   
  
  
"Not as long as I have..." mumbled Seifer, and walked down to the pier where 'Quince' was helping unload a boat that had just docked.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Quince half-turned to pick up a box on her left, and what she glimpsed out of the corner of her eye was by far the most fear-inspiring thing she had seen since she fought the Sorceress War. They were here. Keeping up her cheery front, she continued to take boxes off the boat in front of her.   
  
  
~Please, Hyne, please if I ask for anything in my lifetime just grant me this. Don't let them recognize me...~  
  
  
She didn't notice Seifer until she turned to pick up another box and ran into something solid. Realizing it was a person she started to apologize.  
  
  
"Oh, I'm sorry, I..." she trailed off with a look of abject horror as the knowledge of who she was looking at seeped in. Little lights of yellow played in the green sea of his eyes, he was obviously enjoying catching her like this. When he finally spoke his voice rolled like velvet thunder, soft and rumbling.  
  
  
"Fancy meeting you here, Quince. Or should I say Quistis?"  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Ooohhh aren't I mean? Will Zell find out who the mystery girl is? Or will Seifer whisk her away? What does he have planned? Is Quistis going to faint again? And most of all, will Selphie realize Cid is her half-brother? (haha jk) Stay Tuned Kiddies! 


	6. The Abandoned Pub

A/N: I'm BAAACCCKKKKK! Hey you know Christmas holidays do wonders for my fic writing. I have never been so bored in my life :) Thanks for the reviews all! Hmm...I don't think I said anything about a Quall...*shrug* whatever I'm the writer, I AM GOD! Lol jk. Read on loyal readers!  
  
  
  
~Chapter 6~  
  
  
Glancing over her shoulder, Seifer frowned at something.  
  
  
"Hmm...we have a Zell problem." He grabbed Quistis by the arm, dragging her away from the dock and around an old building that looked like a pub. When he got far enough around to make Zell think they had gone into the street, he pulled her inside the decrepit place. He watched through a small window as the martial artist zoomed past the door at top speed and ran down the adjoining road.  
  
  
Quistis twisted herself out of Seifer's grip and stared up at him defiantly.   
  
  
"What do you want?"  
  
  
Seifer hadn't really thought that far ahead, so he thought up a good story.  
  
  
"I...umm...need your recommendation for...erm...becoming a SeeD. I can't be one without it." Quistis raised an eyebrow.  
  
  
"Then why were you in such a hurry to avoid Zell?" she smirked. And if a smirk looked sexy on Seifer, it looked a thousand times sexier on Quistis Trepe. Seifer fought hard to keep his jaw off the floor.  
  
  
"Cuz I...umm...didn't want to turn you in, I just really really need that recommendation. So, umm Quistis if you could just...write something out quick..."   
  
  
Quistis frowned, but thought she should give him what he wanted to get him off her back. She grabbed a piece of paper out of a phone book sitting on a chair by the entrance. Scribbling a recommendation and signing it with great flourish, she handed it to Seifer.  
  
  
"There." She turned to walk out of the pub and go home to think of a good excuse for missing work, but Seifer stepped to block her way. Quistis got a strange feeling of deja vu but shook it off.  
  
  
"Umm...you can't just go, Quisty, I still...I need...I...erm..." Seifer stopped all attempts to try and communicate anything and just decided to do something he wanted to do for once.  
  
  
Quistis had been watching in amusement as Seifer tried to speak. It was a once in a lifetime opportunity to see him at a loss for words and she was soaking it up. Her smile melted a moment later though, when Seifer's hand shot up from his side and roughly pulled her toward him. His mouth descended, crushing her own, and in that moment the only thing that existed for Quistis was the heat of his body pressed against her. When he broke away and looked at her, trying to guess at her reaction, she floated down to earth.   
  
  
Raising her hand, she punched him in the jaw as hard as the bones in her hand would permit, turned on her heel and raced out of the building and all the way to her house.   
  
  
A bewildered Seifer was left kicking himself in her wake.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Zell saw the blonde girl rush out of the abandoned pub but was too tired to follow her after his wild goose chase with Seifer. Panting, he dragged himself a few feet more...he had to get back to the other SeeDs. Suddenly, he saw Seifer emerge from the pub too, with a strange look on his face. He was flushed, and oh Hyne...was that *hurt* Zell saw on Seifer Almasy's face?! He blinked and looked again. It was! Seifer Almasy looking like he just lost his best friend! Zell almost had heart failure right there and then. So the beast did have feelings then, how interesting.   
  
  
Giving Seifer a few seconds to stick his arrogant face back on properly, Zell strode up to him.  
  
  
"Yo, Almasy, I don't appreciate the little dropping act. I needed to talk to that girl."  
  
  
"Not as much as I did, Dincht. Not nearly as much as I did." He snickered softly. "You're so dense Chickenwuss, I bet you don't even realize who that was." When Zell was silent he went on. "That, Chickenwuss, was our dear Quistis working on that dock. And thanks to you, now she's AWOL again." A blatant lie, if it was anyone's fault it was Seifer's. But Zell didn't know that.  
  
  
Zell looked pained...he couldn't believe it was his fault his angel had run...wait a second...angel?! Where did that thought come from? Past his initial shock from such a thought, past his denial, he knew that for as long as he could remember he had harbored feelings for Quistis Trepe. He refused to call himself a Trepie, considered himself above that. Above meaningless infatuation. Zell's worship held real affection, based not upon a beautiful girl but on a person. He shook his head slowly as if to clear it and turned his hurting gaze back to Seifer.  
  
  
"What can we do?"  
  
  
"WE are not doing anything. I am the one doing something about this." As Zell opened his mouth to retaliate, Selphie, Irvine, Squall and Rinoa rounded the corner and came to a screeching halt in front of the two.   
  
  
"You guys can all go home," said Seifer, "I'll deal with finding Quistis." He said not a word of having actually found her. His tone made him look generous and willing to bear a burden. The tired SeeDs agreed to this quickly, eager to get home. Their beloved Quistis meant little to them, it seemed, in the face of a cup of coffee and a warm bed. Seifer scoffed at how easily they gave up their mission to him. When-not if, *when*-he found Quistis again he would show her that there was someone who could love her past putting in an appearance. Someone who would be there no matter how tired, no matter how much he wanted a good night's sleep. And that someone was him.  
  
  
"I'm staying too." Zell added, with a glare in Seifer's direction. "He screwed up his last mission, he probably needs someone to hold his hand." The barb hit home, and Seifer was too caught up in silence to respond. The SeeDs just nodded, agreeing to whatever Zell was saying, they were too tired to hear.  
  
  
When they had gone, Seifer restrained himself from jumping Zell and beating the crap out of him. He just continued his stony silence and walking away. He had seen a place near the dock with a sign notifying the public that the owner of the house was subletting the basement. Living in a place like that, he could always be close to the dock, and Quistis's workplace. He stopped by a payphone and called the number that had been on the sign, agreeing to meet the landlord in front of the place immediately.   
  
  
Neither Zell nor Seifer said a word on the way over.  
  
  
After a brief conversation with the landlord, he took them around the back way and asked them to please wait out there while he told the person who lived on the main floor that they were coming. Looking at the garbage cans, Seifer thought how empty they were. The person couldn't have moved in long ago. When he lifted the lid of the can, he confirmed his suspicions in a pleasant way. The only items in the garbage can were a SeeD uniform and a peach battle outfit.  
  
  
***  
  
  
"I'll go get the new renters dear, so you know who they are before they just start putting a key in the lock and coming in through the back way," chuckled the landlord. He stepped out of the doorway and let the screen door close behind him as he went to get the two men that were moving in downstairs.  
  
  
Quistis heard muffled voices outside, and then the screen door flew open. She was prepared to meet the new renters with a bored expression and a few words, but what she saw nearly knocked her off her feet.   
  
  
Zell Dincht and Seifer Almasy were smiling at her against the backdrop of her new home.  
  
  
***  
  
  
Seifer felt a grin split his face when he confirmed the main floor resident of the place he was renting.  
  
  
"Why hello again, Quince, what a pleasant surprise!"   
  
  
  
  
  
I hope you have as much fun reading it as I did writing it! Mmm Quistis and Seifer kissed! *squeals in delight* Next Chapter soon! 


	7. Laundry

A/N: Well if it's gone downhill since the last chap, please tell me. I'm not all that great at the whole kissing scene thing. Further note: Sorry if I just ruined it for everybody...oh wait! I never said who was kissing! Well I'll shutup and let you find out who does what and that sort of thing. ^-^  
  
  
  
~Chapter 7~  
  
  
"Um...sure..." she tried smiling weakly, "Good to see you again, Seifer."   
  
  
Seifer nodded, a smirk on his face, as Quistis glanced at Zell before running into her room and almost slamming her door shut. The landlord looked puzzled but shook it off and led the pair into the basement. He babbled for a while about the two bedrooms and blah blah blah until Seifer gave him a death look and he cleared out.   
  
  
"Yo, Seifer?"  
  
  
"What?"  
  
  
"Quistis isn't exactly...er...happy about seeing us here, so what makes you think we're going to see her long enough to talk to her?"  
  
  
"Because Chickenwuss, do the math. Quistis is not the type to wear dirty clothes for months right? And guess where the washer and dryer are? Down here. She's not going to go waste money at a laundromat just to avoid a possible sighting of us." Zell tilted his head to the side as if he weren't quite sure how far she would go not to see them. Finally he nodded, sitting down in a battered beanbag chair.   
  
  
Seifer lay down on the dusty mattress in one of the two downstairs bedrooms and promptly fell asleep. He could faintly hear Zell snoring through the cement wall.  
  
  
  
**~Next day~**  
  
  
Needless to say, Quistis didn't get a very good sleep that night. Unfortunately after she had run home the day before, she'd called her boss and told him she had a sudden case of the flu. After numerous apologies for taking a sick day on her second day of work, she had hung up in hopes that after Thursday the SeeDs would have retreated to Balamb again. And she was right mostly. She just hadn't planned on a couple staying behind. Or on them living in her house, sharing the same space...Quistis took a deep breath when she realized she was hyperventilating.   
  
  
Creeping to the back door, she glanced at the coat hanger. No trench coat. She was sure she had seen it there the previous night when she had come to the kitchen for a drink. So that meant they were out. Well, Seifer was out. But she was sure Zell would bend to Seifer's obvious dictatorship and follow him around like Raijin and Fujin had. Not with the devotion, more likely kicking, screaming and swearing but following all the same.   
  
  
She REALLY regretted throwing out her SeeD uniform and battle gear. What she was wearing was her only change of clothes. Which meant, now that she had to wash them, she had nothing else to wear while they were in the machine. She wasn't so distressed as to pick her old clothes out of the garbage can though, that was just nasty. Hyne knew what had been in those things. Quistis suddenly felt a sharp hatred for whoever had put the washing machine in the basement. Thank goodness they had gone out. She hoped they wouldn't return before she had finished washing her clothes. She had no idea what Seifer had been putting his hands in yesterday but it had left a black handprint on her back! And there was dirt from the pub on the bottom of her jeans!  
  
  
Opening the door that separated her level with the basement, she crept down the stairs and looked around fervently at the bottom. She saw that the two bedroom doors were shut, but as she heard not even a light rustling after a long pause, she figured they were in fact gone. Heaving a sigh of relief she headed over to the washing machine and stripped off her tank top and jeans, throwing them in the washer. The first cycle went by as Quistis read a magazine she had received in the mail. It wasn't very interesting but then, being a religious handout, she hadn't expected it to enthrall her. But it passed time and there was a sweet story from the Book of Hyne in it. She read the address stamp on the back. Hyne's Witnesses. Yawning, she pulled her clothes out of the washer and plopped them in the dryer sopping wet.  
  
  
The tank top dried quickly, so Quistis pulled it out and put it on. The jeans however were another matter. She knew exactly how awful damp jeans felt on her skin and decided to let them dry properly before putting them on. She sat on an upturned laundry basket in her tank top and underwear, shivering slightly. The dryer thumped like it was on its last legs, shaking violently and making the most Hyne-awful noises.  
  
  
Suddenly Quistis stopped thinking altogether and was very quiet; trying to hear over the dryer's loud bumping. She could have sworn she heard someone swear.  
  
  
"What the hell is that goddamn noise?" said the muffled voice. Quistis's eyes got wide and she clamped a hand over her mouth and dived behind the dryer. She could only hope he wouldn't look too closely or wonder why the dryer was going. The door to the bedroom swung open on a creaky hinge, and the voice came closer.  
  
  
"What..." he stopped about three feet from where Quistis was hiding and there was a pause. Quistis couldn't see what he was doing, but she hoped he wasn't turning it off. She needed those jeans! "Wonder if Chickenwuss felt the need to do some laundry...Ah well just get the laundry basket, should be done in a few minutes."   
  
  
Quistis froze. But she was holding the laundry...oh no. ~Please Hyne, don't let him look here, please, please~  
  
  
"Where is that stupid thing?" He glanced around the room and then his gaze rested on the space behind the dryer. Stepping over to it he looked down...into the horrified eyes of Quistis. "Why Quistis, nice to see you! And in such an underdressed fashion too, this is a treat!"  
  
  
Quistis blushed hotly and glared at him. "Shutup, Seifer!" Seifer looked down at her and smirked, running his gaze along her body in a very obvious way.  
  
  
"No other change of clothes I presume?"  
  
  
"No, Seifer I just feel like sitting around in my underwear...of course not!"  
  
  
Then Seifer surprised her by pulling her up by her hand, taking his trench coat off and wrapping it around her shoulders. He smiled at her, a real smile, not a smirk. She smiled back cautiously, tip-toeing around the expression as if she could expect to hit a land mine at any moment.  
  
  
"Thank you."   
  
  
"Not a problem," he said, still smiling. As they waited in silence for the dryer to cease it rumbling and thunking, he couldn't help but stare at her. He knew she was trying to avoid looking at him directly, she was directing her eyes anywhere but his. She looked so...small, so fragile, a little girl in a big man's coat. Its dim color made her look paler, like a china doll, even her hair seemed more golden than it had ever been. She'd neglected her contacts today and he admired silently the beautiful, natural blue hue of her eyes. Absentmindedly, she wrapped a strand of her honey-colored hair around her fingers. Without even realized it, she was driving him to distraction.  
  
  
As if under a powerful hypnosis, he reached out an arm and wrapped it around her waist, drawing her to him. She put him under a spell not even the best sorceress in the world could hope to cast while having the effect that one smile, one glance from her could produce in him. Her eyes questioned his actions as she turned her face up to his. Those eyes... In a trance, he lowered his head and kissed her deeply. He felt her stiffen in his arms, but after a moment she seemed to give herself up to him, leaning into him as she draped an arm around his neck. Vaguely, Seifer heard an anguished cry from his right somewhere. He felt Quistis pull away, breaking the kiss but not his embrace and her eyes widened as she glanced to the right.  
  
  
Looking up, Seifer barely saw Zell's fist come at his jaw. In a confusing spin of pain, he was propelled backwards, cracking his head on the cement wall behind him. He heard a strange jumble of syllables bouncing around in his throbbing head, before Seifer Almasy saw no more.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Is Seifer dead? Unconscious? In a coma? What's Quistis going to do to Zell? What's Zell's reaction going to be? Find out in Chapter 8! Coming to a fanfiction.net near you! 


	8. Seifer?!

A/N: Ok this is most likely one of the last few quickie updates. I have school on Monday, and although I'll try to write everyday, I really am sick of thinking after homework and stuff! So enjoy reading this once every few days while you can :)  
Oh bah, Zell has to think -_-'', his thought dealies will be [words here]  
  
  
  
~Chapter 8~  
  
  
Quistis turned to Zell in shock.  
  
  
"Are you insane?! What's wrong with you?" She knelt by Seifer and started trying to revive him. "Seifer? Please wake up..." Her voice grew softer as tears streamed down her face. "I haven't got a cure, I didn't take one with me..." She trailed off completely as her sobbing overcame her. She found Seifer's pulse, strong as ever, if a little irregular. Sighing in relief, she reluctantly stood up and faced Zell.  
  
  
Zell just stared at her tear-stained face as she cleared her throat and wiped her eyes before speaking to him.  
  
  
"Do you have a cure on you?" Her voice was husky and loud in the silence of the room. The banging of the dryer had stopped, signaling that her jeans were dry, but this was the farthest thing from her mind at present.  
  
  
Zell's eyes narrowed, taking in the trench coat Quistis was wearing. He hadn't noticed before in his blind rage. He shook his head no. Actually he had two Curagas and a Full Life, but he wasn't about to help Seifer. The bastard had been kissing the girl he loved. Mentally smiling, Zell thought of how Quistis might-no, *would*-turn to him provided he died. Hyne how Zell hoped he died.   
  
  
When he looked up, he saw that some of his glee must have shown on his face, for the blonde beauty was backing away from him.  
  
  
"You know, I think I'm just going to...take him to the local hospital...they can help him easily." She slipped her jeans out of the dryer and put them on. Zell frowned.  
  
  
"He'll be fine." [If he is, I'll just have to remedy that, but we'll see if he survives.] Quistis's expression became hard.  
  
  
"Help me move him Zell, he's going to the hospital whether you think he should or not."  
  
  
"Well if you want to take him, you're going to have to move him on your own. I sure as hell ain't helping."   
  
  
Quistis walked right up to him and looked him in the eye.  
  
  
"What's *wrong* with you, Zell? First you waltz in here and give Seifer a concussion, which he can possibly die from, now you're refusing to help me stop him from dying?!" She shook her head. "Are you possessed?"  
  
  
"Well look at you, you little slut, you think you're acting like yourself? Half dressed with *his* coat on? What the hell are you thinking of?" Quistis's mouth dropped open.   
  
  
"You have absolutely no right to say that to me! You're not my father, not my brother and definitely not my boyfriend! Where do you get off talking to me like that?"   
  
  
Turning away from Zell, she hauled Seifer up into a sitting position and hooked her arms under his. Zell stood there silently, not knowing what to do in the face of her determination to save his worst enemy. She was putting in every ounce of effort she had energy to give. He watched her drag him to the stairwell, then step by step, up the stairs. It took her a good ten minutes to get him halfway up, during which time she didn't so much as glance in his direction. Heaving a great sigh, Zell resigned himself to help. The two of them took him up the stairs and out into the street in record time. Quistis was beginning to regret not having her phone activated. An ambulance sure would have been helpful right about now.  
  
  
Quistis made no effort to speak to Zell on their way to the hospital. Everyone in the sleepy little town of FH was at work, they had no hope of getting a ride. Half an hour later, just when Zell was about ready to pitch Seifer in a nearby ditch and run off with Quistis slung over his shoulder, they arrived at the hospital.  
  
  
"Excuse me," Quistis hailed a nurse. "My friend had an accident at home. He slipped and fell, banging his head on the cement wall in the basement." Zell marveled at her. After he had punched Seifer to within an inch of his life, after he had refused to help carry him to his salvation, after he had thought about kidnapping her and leaving Seifer to his own devices, she was still covering his tracks. He almost felt a bit guilty. Almost.   
  
  
Quistis waited in the small, dim room for the friends and family of the injured. The hard, hateful chair dug into her back as she sat there, waiting for a doctor to tell her his condition. Vaguely, she saw Zell lurking around the coffee machine, but her eyes were too tear-filled to see him properly. She wasn't sure she wanted to. She didn't know or care what he had been thinking when he hit Seifer. Quistis wasn't sure she wanted to find out, but Zell would surely feel the urge to tell her sometime.   
  
  
The doctor walked in at that moment, and Quistis's heart gave a little lurch. He extended his hand to Quistis and she took it, her small pale hand lifeless in the doctor's grip.  
  
  
"Your friend had a near miss young lady. Ten more minutes and he would have been dead. Don't worry though, in a few days he'll be back to normal. Sorry if I scared you there, you look a little white. Anyway, don't lose any sleep, he's going to be just fine. Come back and see him tomorrow, he's going to be pretty out of it until then." He gave her a smile and then walked off to attend whatever other business was waiting for him.  
  
  
She exited the room with her expression hovering somewhere between sobbing and smiling. When she saw Zell, she walked up to him, her face hard as nails. Punching him in the chest for all she was worth, she started screaming at him.  
  
  
"Well you bastard, he's going to be ok, no thanks to you! If you ever, EVER scare me like that again I'll..." Zell straightened up from her punch just in time to catch her as she fell into his arms, sobbing like the world had collapsed on her.  
  
  
He walked her home.  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
When Seifer woke up the next morning, the first thing he saw was gold. Gold, gold, gold, it spread itself out like a fan before his wondering eyes. Letting his vision travel farther down he smiled. Quistis, smiling like an angel, blue eyes sparkling, was looking up at him lazily from where her head rested on his chest. His smile grew into a grin when he noticed she was still wearing his trench coat.  
  
  
"Why hello there," he said, "What a pleasant surprise."   
  
  
She sat up and stretched like a particularly happy kitten.   
  
  
"Morning, Seifer." He reached out an arm and ran his fingers slowly down her jaw line. She brought her face down until they were eye to eye. "Do you remember what happened?" Seifer groaned.  
  
  
"Chickenwuss...didn't know the idiot had it in him." Quistis nodded.  
  
  
"I wish he didn't."  
  
  
"Quisty?" She had rested her head on his chest again and looked about ready to fall asleep. She hadn't taken the doctor's advice and had in fact lost all her sleep over him.   
  
  
"Mmhmm?"  
  
  
"Can we talk about this some other time?"  
  
  
"Mmm..." He took this for a yes. She was close to oblivious to what he was saying anyway.  
  
  
"Quisty?"  
  
  
"Mmm..?" Her voice sounded fainter this time and he couldn't be sure that he reached before sleep did as he whispered in her ear.  
  
  
"I love you..."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
I worked three days trying to get this chapter right, so if you hate it I'll never forgive you! 


	9. Drowning In Her Eyes...

A/N: Alright some of you thought the last chap was the end but pfft, ppl like you and me we need closure, eh? No assuming is gonna do the trick. If this chap is a little weird, I just finished reading Galax-Arena by Gillian Anderson and holy hell that book creeps me out. And yet I continue to read it...anyone out there read it? If ya do ya kno what I'm talking about. On with the story!! :)  
  
  
  
~Chapter 9~  
  
  
Zell walked into the room and his heart sunk. He felt it fall through his chest and make its way down, slithering through his body as if propelled by some hidden weight. The stupid thing was that he had suspected it would turn out this way, he had known it with every fiber of his being and he had denied it. [Almost really doesn't count.] Bitter, and suddenly assaulted with a pure and piercing coldness, he took one last glance at the blonde beauty curled up on Seifer's chest. Sighing, he turned and left. He felt overcome by the irony. His temper, a great weapon in battle, had lost him the only one he had ever loved. He wondered vaguely if they would notice his disappearance, engaged in their loving embraces and comforting togetherness. Scoffing at his own stupidity, he wandered seemingly aimlessly, unsure of his destination, unsure how to get there. When and if he made it back to Garden he would be forced to pretend he cared more about hot dogs than her. More about fighting than her. More about missions and curfews and Garden than her. And he found the thought of pretending he cared more about those things, of perhaps having to feign an uncaring facade if Seifer and Quistis came back, ignoring their existence as a couple meaning anything more than a drop in the bucket to him, all that was just too much.   
  
  
He was too weak. He could never stand that. He noticed he had made it down to the docks now. Zell looked at the water and thought of Quistis's eyes. He saw the sun and saw her golden hair. And he knew he would never be able to pretend. Zell did not pretend, he was brutally honest and sometimes just brutal but he could not hide behind falseness. It seemed fitting then that he should end it the way he had begun it. Drowning in those eyes...  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
In the hospital room, Quistis's eyes flew open. Something was wrong that she could not place. Everything should be so right. She was with Seifer, he was okay, and the sun was shining. It nagged her, deep in the dark recesses of her mind, that something was out of place. Rising, she went out to the waiting room and glanced around furtively. ~Hmm...No Zell~ She asked a passing nurse if she had seen a short blonde man leave the hospital earlier. She replied that yes, she had, and it looked as though he were headed toward the dock. She was quite willing to engage Quistis in a conversation about how she supposed he was off to find work, but she politely dodged her and re-entered Seifer's room. Shaking him gently, she smiled down at him with the aura of an angel.  
  
  
"Seifer..." He grumbled at her, lost in his sleepy world where she was only a hazy spirit.   
  
  
"Mmm..." She poked him hard, right between the eyes, all pretense of having patience with him gone. "Ow...mmm...what?!"   
  
  
"I'm gonna go find Zell, okay? I'll be back soon." Scowling at her, he made a poorly aimed grab for her arm, still foggy from sleep.  
  
  
"Let Zell find himself," he yawned. Quistis smiled and shook her head. The feeling had upped its ante, and she knew she needed to find him. Dropping Seifer a quick peck on the lips, she made her exit.  
  
  
~*~  
  
  
Quistis walked hurriedly through the streets, down to the docks. She didn't try to appear casual and she didn't try to repress the growing lump in her stomach. It felt like the whole universe had slipped out of sync, one cog had malfunctioned and the whole machine was going down in ruin.  
  
  
When she reached the docks, there was no sign of the martial artist. She walked out to the very end of one of the piers to get a better look. She could see every pier, every building, every sailor and dockhand, but no Zell. Despairing, she glanced down at the water when something caught her eye. A flash of something that was definitely not a fish. As she gazed downward, she made out the dark outline of a person. Of Zell.  
  
  
She threw herself in the water, seized his arm, and pulled him to the surface. He was deadweight, and it took her a long time and a lot of swallowed water to haul him onto the pier. He had picked one of the lesser-frequented areas of the dock; there was no one to assist her that was within earshot.  
  
  
Staring at his prone form as if pleading with him to wake up, she pressed her head to his chest. She heard nothing. Desperate for him to breathe she held sunglasses in front of his nose. She saw no fog. Performing CPR, rising to the occasion like the SeeD she had been trained to be, she went through the motions of reviving him. She saw nothing for her efforts. Casting every cure spell she had picked up from the hospital in case of another emergency, she still heard not a heart, felt not a breath.   
  
  
It was then that she noticed what he had clutched in his hand, his fingers unrelaxed around the object, rigid with fear of letting go. It was the peach vest Quistis had thrown out her first day in FH.  
  
  
Happy, bubbly Quince evaporated as if she were but another chunk of ice in a hot fire. Quistis, and only Quistis, shattered to pieces as she broke down and sobbed for her dead friend. She cried until the tears simply would not come. She cried until she felt hollow and empty and worthless. She cursed herself for not being there sooner. She screamed at Zell for doing this to himself. Most of all she cursed Hyne for allowing this to happen. Either way, she was left with a hollow bubble in her throat, her thin reign on calm pulled to its extent. If onlies would not bring Zell back. She was finished with crying, she had done all she could for that day. So she went into her second reserve. She screamed. In a raw, strangled, inhuman cry that voiced every feeling that words failed to describe, she succeeded in drawing a crowd.   
  
  
Finally, someone whom Quistis did not recognize took Zell's body away. She tried to voice her hysteria into rational, coherent sentences. She made an attempt to tell them they couldn't take him, not now. All that escaped her lips were the ravings of a mad woman. She followed the police to the station obediently, sat down covered in a warm blanket, and drank the coffee she was given. Quistis went through the motions of living but felt none of it in those first few hours. Gazing at the floor, memories ran through her head. Zell at the orphanage, what little she could piece together. Most of the memories centered around Zell as he was...had been...in the present. She saw him grinning at the SeeD graduation ball and fighting for hot dogs at lunch. In her mind she saw him challenge Seifer to a fight after being called a Chickenwuss, the look in his eyes when he had punched him the other day. It amazed her how in hindsight, she could see clearly what that look had meant, but in the strained atmosphere of the day his emotions had escaped her. She shook her head slowly, as if still unable to comprehend it. He had been jealous. Jealous of her being with Seifer. She couldn't believe she hadn't guessed from his action if not from his expression.  
  
  
Staring at the ground, the only thing that registered in her mind was a vague sort of surprise that the floor had suddenly turned gray. She followed the gray 'floor' upward into Seifer's anxious face.   
  
  
Throwing herself in his arms, she started to cry again. She didn't care how he had gotten there, or why. All that mattered was his presence.   
  
  
They stood like that for a long time, Quistis crying, and Seifer's face etched in a mixture of pain and confusion. They only broke apart when the police officer entered.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Criminey! I killed Zell! O.o;; Did that come out of left field or what? When the author doesn't see it coming, you know there's something wrong... 


	10. Four Weddings and a Funeral

The last chapter in my story called "A Walk in the Knight". If you enjoy this chapter I suggest you read Rodeo Man, a short drama I wrote and think you may like.   
  
  
  
~Chapter 10~  
  
  
The policeman nodded at Quistis and Seifer in turn and regarded them with a cold, steely gaze. He heaved a sigh and looked Quistis in the eye as he spoke with a calm deliberation.  
  
  
  
"I'm very sorry for your loss. There was nothing the hospital could do for him. There are some papers to be filled out regarding his death, if you would just follow me." He sounded mechanical, inhuman. If he felt any emotion whatsoever, he hid it very well.  
  
  
  
Fresh tears burned in the corner of Quistis's eyes, but she followed the policeman into a small office just off the waiting area. Seifer followed, and they sat down in soft gray chairs in front of a large mahogany desk. In silence, Quistis filled out the forms quickly, signing her name at the bottom. She stood up and left the office unceremoniously. Seifer gave the policeman his best apologetic look before he went after her.   
  
  
  
"Quistis, wait up." Catching up to her in a few strides, he slung one arm around her tired form. She sighed and leaned into him.  
  
  
  
"Where do we go from here?" Seifer shook his head.  
  
  
  
"I don't know. Does it matter?"  
  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
"Then we'll find somewhere, if we look for it." Quistis nodded in a sort of daze. "Right now we have to go back to Garden, to Chi... to Zell's funeral." Looking up, Quistis saw just a small, shining edge of a tear in one corner of those fathomless emerald eyes. She inclined her head.  
  
  
  
"We'll go back. Out of respect for Zell. Then, you're going to become a SeeD."  
  
  
  
"Yeah and...what?"  
  
  
  
"Seifer, you didn't come back to Garden for your health. You are going to realize the dream you could have achieved earlier. And you are not, under any circumstances, going to let me stop you." Seifer smiled down at her. He really did need to go to that SeeD graduation ball, to dance under the banner of the second most important thing in the world to him, with the first most.   
  
  
  
"You have to come. You can be the useless live in girlfriend of a very important guy, just like Rinoa." He grinned and mustered a fake cry of pain when she punched him in the arm, smiling at his teasing.  
  
  
  
"No way! You'll see, I'll have Squall's job yet! Always was more qualified..." she muttered.   
  
  
  
Hand in hand, glowing in each other's presence, they walked down the streets of FH. They needed to pay respect to an old friend's memory.  
  
  
  
~*Two Days Later, Garden, Zell's Funeral*~  
  
  
The ceremonies were just ending, the speeches had been made, and new tears had coursed down the cheeks of those who knew him well. White roses lay in fragrant bunches around a solid rosewood casket. It seemed the whole of Garden and beyond had come to pay their last respects to the outstanding SeeD known as Zell Dincht. That year, the graduating SeeD ball would be dedicated to his memory. The martial artist would not soon be forgotten, by his friends or by those who barely knew him. Garden had been dreary without him in his short absence, and now that that absence was lengthened to forever, most were trying to collect their lives and move on. It was not an easy task.   
  
  
  
As Seifer lead a somber Quistis away from the crowd, he pondered the hand that life had dealt him. It seemed the dealer had finally given him the queen of hearts he needed for a winning combination. It was too bad his friend-yes, friend, even though they weren't always on the best of terms-Zell, had folded before the game was over. He looked down at the woman who had captured his heart, and even through the sober atmosphere, he had to smile. He was going to realize two dreams that hadn't previously had a chance to come true. His dream to become a SeeD, but even more powerful than that, his romantic dream.   
  
  
  
"Quisty?"  
  
  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
  
  
"I love you. You know that right?"  
  
  
  
"I know. I love you too, Seifer."  
  
  
  
"What would you do if I asked you to marry me right now?"  
  
  
  
"I'd say yes." A beat of silence followed. "Are you asking?"  
  
  
  
"Yes."  
  
  
  
"Then I'm yes-ing." He grinned and held her closer to him, if that was possible. He then noticed she stiffened a little in his arms and frowned.  
  
  
  
"Zell would have been happy you're happy Quistis." She looked up at him with a concerned expression.  
  
  
  
"Do you think? I mean, it's not dishonoring his memory, us being engaged on his funeral day?"  
  
  
  
"I think he'd be honored." She smiled. "Of course then he'd try to beat the crap out of me but..." But Quistis had stopped listening after the first sentence.  
  
  
  
"Maybe he would be...maybe he would be."   
  
  
  
~*Epilogue*~   
  
  
One year later, Seifer and Quistis had married, Seifer was a SeeD, and the world in general was a wonderful place for them both. Quistis had been promoted to Instructor again, because her only failure had become her greatest success. Cid began to realize that if he expected her to be his maid, he had another thing coming. Squall and Rinoa had married, as had Irvine and Selphie. The library girl Zell had had a fling with was married to some upstanding SeeD named Chad.   
  
  
  
Life was going on. They missed their friend and brother deeply, but they were living again. Each day brought a new respect for the life they had been given, an attitude they would pass on to their children in the coming years. Sometimes, Quistis would pause in her teaching and look out the window as if in deep thought. Seeming to get an answer to an unspoken question, she would resume her class with a smile on her face. On quiet nights, she loved to watch the stars with her husband until long after midnight.  
  
  
  
One star, just off to the left of Ursa Major, shone more brightly than any other in the sky. Its blue-white radiance guided many a troubled soul to finding a peaceful moment. It was every student, instructor and SeeD's favorite star, for it always seemed to be there for them, waiting with a listening ear.  
  
  
  
Quistis called it Zell.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
~*Fin*~ 


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